Tange Sazen
Tange Sazen (丹下 左膳) is a fictional character of a swordsman from Japanese literature and from cinema of Japan. The character is the loyal Sōma clan samurai Tange Samanosuke who is attacked and mutilated as a result of betrayal, losing his right eye and right arm. Now, he starts to live as a nihilistic ronin, using the pseudonym Sazen.
Development
Tange Sazen first appeared in a Fubo Hayashi serial novel depicting the exploits of Ōoka Echizen that ran from October 1927 to May 1928 on the pages of Mainichi Shimbun. The character became so popular with the public that three companies released multi-part films of his adventures in 1928, the most popular of which were directed by Daisuke Itō at Nikkatsu and starred Denjirō Ōkōchi (大河内傳次郎 Ōkōchi Denjirō). The film The Million Ryo Pot featured Ōkōchi playing a comic Tange and was in part a parody of the earlier character. Other actors who have played Tange Sazen include Tsumasaburō Bandō, Ryūtarō Ōtomo, Ryūnosuke Tsukigata, Kinnosuke Nakamura, and Tetsurō Tanba.[1] Komako Hara also played a female Sazen in a couple of films in 1937.[2]
In literature
- The Mysterious Sword aka lit. The Magic Sword (丹下左膳 妖刀濡れ燕) (1960)[3]
- Mentioned in the manga Deadman Wonderland.
In films
- Tange Sazen: Hyakuman ryo no tsubo (2004)[4] played by Toyokawa Etsushi
- Onna Sazen: Nuretsubame Katate Giri (Lady Sazen and the Drenched Shallow Sword) (1960) with Yasuda Michiyo as "O'kin", the female "Sazen"
- Tange Sazen: Hien iaigiri (The Secret of the Urn) (1966)[5] played by Nakamura Kinnosuke
- Tange Sazen Nuretsubame Ittoryu (Tange Sazen and the Princess) (1961) played by Otomo Ryutaro
- Tange Sazen Yoto Nuretsubame (The Mysterious Sword) (1960)[6] played by Otomo Ryutaro
- Tange Sazen doto-hen (The Mystery of the Twin Dragons) (1959)[7] played by Otomo Ryutaro
- Tange Sazen (1958)[8] played by Otomo Ryutaro
- Onna Sazen (女左膳) (Lady Sazen) (1937), played by Hara Komako as "Lady Sazen"
- Tange Sazen Yowa - Hyakumanryou No Tsubo (The Million Ryo Pot) (1935)[9] played by Ôkôchi Denjirô
See also
References
- ↑ Tachibana, Yoshiharu (7 December 2000). "Eiga kantoku Yamanaka Sadao sakuhin kenkyū". Image Library. Retrieved 4 January 2011.
- ↑ "Onna Sazen: Dai ippen, yōka no maki". Japanese Movie Database (in Japanese). Retrieved 4 January 2011.
- ↑ The Mysterious Sword, accessed 20 May 2009.
- ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0486212/
- ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0171812/
- ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0201350/
- ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0200197/
- ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0227488/
- ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0027076/